MILLVILLE – The municipal Housing Authority is tightening security at its properties with a focus on Riverview East high-rise, where concerns are unauthorized visitors, drug use, and at least one prostitution operation.

Paul Dice, executive director of the authority, laid out the situation at Tuesday afternoon’s City Commission work session.

“We’ve had people who are sleeping in the vestibules,” Dice said. “We’ve even had people sleeping in the (stairwells). That’s not normal. Those incidences are very small, but it’s enough that it gets out to people and they’re unnerved by it and I understand that.”

In 2016, the federally funded authority contracted with the city for special two-officer police patrols of all its properties. The contract and the hiring of security guards for Riverview East are considerable expenses given the authority’s budget, the executive director said.

Dice said Riverview East is the site with the most serious problems. A ”small percentage” of residents there have been aiding intruders, such as using objects to prop open exterior doors, he said.

On Wednesday, Dice told The Daily Journal that the situation at Riverview East, on South 2nd Street, worsened over the last six months.

“We’ve got a couple problematic tenants, which we’re addressing through lease enforcement,” Dice said. “What’s happening is at a low level but it’s something we have to address before it gets worse.”

The authority’s reaction has included hiring a security firm, which started work last weekend; installing exterior door locks; relocating the property management office to a position that is more visible and with a better view of visitors; and Dice is spending more time at the high-rise.

The authority is encouraging residents to form their own councils or for existing councils to get more active.